Did you know that the tale of the Three Billy Goats Gruff supposedly began here? There is also the Fjord horse. You've heard of that, I'm sure. And in the far north, live the reindeer herding Sami people. I love their colorful red hats. Sorry I don't have a picture of that for you. Only this picture of a blond-hair, blue eyed Norwegian girl.
We enjoyed this book based on a true story. It is a story of bravery and faith. Norwegians still celebrate this with a skiing race in which the participants wear a (10 lb.?) weight on their back to represent the baby prince that was saved.
Our Read Aloud did not take place in Norway, but in the Netherlands (not too far away). The children found it a bit boring with its lengthy retelling of history, but to me it was interesting, and mysterious. I got the audio version as I had a hard time pronouncing some of the words and wanted to hear how they were to be said properly. For instance, when one was excited, they said, "Huzzah!" The book held Hannah's attention during the exciting parts. It has a very happy ending and there is much mention of godly character in the book. There are parts in it that might be distubing to young children. When the father who has a head injury tries to burn the mother in the fire, not knowing what he is doing. And when the surgeon comes to operate on the father. There are no details given of the surgery, but the young girl, Gretel's, reaction to seeing the instruments and fearing that they will kill her father might be unsettling to some. Definitely for 8 and up. Luckily Josiah did not care to listen to it and chose to play in his room while Hannah and I listened.
Now we are off to France, where Hannah says her favorite city of Paris is located AND the Eiffel Tower!
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